marisnini's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
kriedesel's review against another edition
5.0
My first graphic novel about live wire and I’m hooked.
trike's review against another edition
2.0
We join our program already in progress. Which is a bit of a problem, because I have no emotional connection to these characters.
At some point back in the 1970s or 1980s, Marvel editor Jim Shooter said, “Every issue is someone’s first issue.” Meaning writers had to figure out a way to succcinctly convey what had gone before while moving the story forward. Sometimes it was a useful but clunky one-page flashback, which eventually evolved into a couple paragraphs that began, “Previously in...” The best ones wove it into the story itself.
None of that happens here. I have no idea who these people are or what abilities they have. The text at the beginning says the Livewire is a “teletechnopath” with “unrestricted access to the digital world.” A character very similar to this was in the late, great superhero TV series Alphas. Gary could hear electronic communications and control electrical devices. (https://youtu.be/V41R4vFvYe8) Except when we meet Livewire, she’s a combination of Magneto and Superman, saving people when two planes collide in mid-air. A story moment that’s never referred to again. I don’t get that.
Eventually we learn that she crashed the entire electrical grid in the US, apparently via an EMP, killing tens of thousands of people when pacemakers quit and planes fell out of the sky. They keep hitting that gong over and over, with no real resolution to it. She keeps saying she was “protecting our kind” and saving her kids, but no one is on her side and we never see these kids.
It really just feels like a muddled version of the excellent Alphas. I don’t know what story comes before this, but this is called volume 1. Not a great jumping-on point, frankly.
At some point back in the 1970s or 1980s, Marvel editor Jim Shooter said, “Every issue is someone’s first issue.” Meaning writers had to figure out a way to succcinctly convey what had gone before while moving the story forward. Sometimes it was a useful but clunky one-page flashback, which eventually evolved into a couple paragraphs that began, “Previously in...” The best ones wove it into the story itself.
None of that happens here. I have no idea who these people are or what abilities they have. The text at the beginning says the Livewire is a “teletechnopath” with “unrestricted access to the digital world.” A character very similar to this was in the late, great superhero TV series Alphas. Gary could hear electronic communications and control electrical devices. (https://youtu.be/V41R4vFvYe8) Except when we meet Livewire, she’s a combination of Magneto and Superman, saving people when two planes collide in mid-air. A story moment that’s never referred to again. I don’t get that.
Eventually we learn that she crashed the entire electrical grid in the US, apparently via an EMP, killing tens of thousands of people when pacemakers quit and planes fell out of the sky. They keep hitting that gong over and over, with no real resolution to it. She keeps saying she was “protecting our kind” and saving her kids, but no one is on her side and we never see these kids.
It really just feels like a muddled version of the excellent Alphas. I don’t know what story comes before this, but this is called volume 1. Not a great jumping-on point, frankly.
carroq's review against another edition
3.0
Disclaimer: I received a free ecopy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This is book is a solid follow-up to Harbinger Wars 2. As such, it spends a lot of time dealing with Livewire's actions in that book. And I love it for actually dealing with those events and doing so in a way that fits the character. There is some new stuff in this book that deals with Livewire's past as well. I think this is actually a good place for new readers to jump into the character because it addresses both of those aspects without assuming that you know everything about the character.
I really dug the art too. For those that have read Secret Weapons, this is an extension of that miniseries. It brings in many of the same characters and makes good use of them. As much as I enjoyed certain aspects of this book, as a whole it didn't wow me. It spends a lot of time cleaning up a previous story, so it didn't really feel like it's own thing. I'm definitely interested in reading more of Livewire's story though.
This is book is a solid follow-up to Harbinger Wars 2. As such, it spends a lot of time dealing with Livewire's actions in that book. And I love it for actually dealing with those events and doing so in a way that fits the character. There is some new stuff in this book that deals with Livewire's past as well. I think this is actually a good place for new readers to jump into the character because it addresses both of those aspects without assuming that you know everything about the character.
I really dug the art too. For those that have read Secret Weapons, this is an extension of that miniseries. It brings in many of the same characters and makes good use of them. As much as I enjoyed certain aspects of this book, as a whole it didn't wow me. It spends a lot of time cleaning up a previous story, so it didn't really feel like it's own thing. I'm definitely interested in reading more of Livewire's story though.
tatchi's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
quirkycatsfatstacks's review against another edition
4.0
3 1/2 stars
I received a copy of Livewire Vol. 1 through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Livewire is a new series from Valiant Entertainment. The focus is on a single psiot and her attempt to save her people while making amends for her past. This psiot is none other than Livewire. She’s gone through so much already by the start of this volume, and that isn’t a pattern that’ll be changing anytime soon for her.
Warnings: Livewire comes up against a lot of different foes during the course of this volume. She’s a woman of color, and despite all the good she’s done, the media had no trouble painting her as a terrorist; and people believed it. She’s captured, treated worse than one would ever like to imagine, and eventually forced into an involuntary medical procedure intended to cut her powers. It’s all highly disturbing.
Livewire Vol. 1 was an interesting read, though I’ll confess that I was confused at times. I loved Livewire’s character and determination, even up against all the odds she was facing. She’s a brilliant lead for the series, and I can’t wait to see where they go with this.
I think I must have missed her introduction in another series – or at least that’s how it felt the whole time I was reading. There was backstory that I felt like I was expected to know or understand, and I got confused at a few different points because of this.
I’m more than a little curious about the other psiots that Livewire has been working so hard to protect. There’s such a major world implied during this story, and I honestly can’t wait to see more of it. What I have seen has proven to be intricate and fascinating.
I love that Livewire accepted that she’s done wrong in her past – that in her attempts to save the people she cared about, she forced other people to pay the price. I love that she’s trying to accept and atone for what she’s done. In many ways that makes her more human than the people that are pursuing her. They certainly don’t seem to have that problem.
I’m going to have to look at all of the other series out by Valiant and see if there are any tie ins for this series. I feel like there has to be something, and I desperately want to know what it is. I hope it’s as interesting as I feel like it should be.
It’ll be interesting to see where they go with this for the next volume. There’s a lot of potential here, and I for one can’t wait to see how they use it.
For more reviews, check out Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks
I received a copy of Livewire Vol. 1 through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Livewire is a new series from Valiant Entertainment. The focus is on a single psiot and her attempt to save her people while making amends for her past. This psiot is none other than Livewire. She’s gone through so much already by the start of this volume, and that isn’t a pattern that’ll be changing anytime soon for her.
Spoiler
Warnings: Livewire comes up against a lot of different foes during the course of this volume. She’s a woman of color, and despite all the good she’s done, the media had no trouble painting her as a terrorist; and people believed it. She’s captured, treated worse than one would ever like to imagine, and eventually forced into an involuntary medical procedure intended to cut her powers. It’s all highly disturbing.
Livewire Vol. 1 was an interesting read, though I’ll confess that I was confused at times. I loved Livewire’s character and determination, even up against all the odds she was facing. She’s a brilliant lead for the series, and I can’t wait to see where they go with this.
I think I must have missed her introduction in another series – or at least that’s how it felt the whole time I was reading. There was backstory that I felt like I was expected to know or understand, and I got confused at a few different points because of this.
I’m more than a little curious about the other psiots that Livewire has been working so hard to protect. There’s such a major world implied during this story, and I honestly can’t wait to see more of it. What I have seen has proven to be intricate and fascinating.
I love that Livewire accepted that she’s done wrong in her past – that in her attempts to save the people she cared about, she forced other people to pay the price. I love that she’s trying to accept and atone for what she’s done. In many ways that makes her more human than the people that are pursuing her. They certainly don’t seem to have that problem.
I’m going to have to look at all of the other series out by Valiant and see if there are any tie ins for this series. I feel like there has to be something, and I desperately want to know what it is. I hope it’s as interesting as I feel like it should be.
It’ll be interesting to see where they go with this for the next volume. There’s a lot of potential here, and I for one can’t wait to see how they use it.
For more reviews, check out Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks
bluehairedlibrarian's review against another edition
2.0
I don't know what came before this book, but you definitely need to find it and read it first. This is all reaction and consequences to something that happens in a totally different book (series?). That means you don't get character development because you're supposed to know who these people are. You get plenty of flashbacks, but it feels disjointed. It felt like I was eavesdropping on a conversation starting in the middle rather than taking part in one from the beginning.
heathershectichideaway's review against another edition
5.0
This graphic novel was definitely one that I would read over and over again! I didn't want it to end because I loved getting to know the characters throughout the series. The artwork was very detailed and I couldn't wait to see what the next issue was going to entail.
becks_books's review against another edition
3.0
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I feel like my understanding of what was happening in this series was definitely hampered by not having read any Valiant comics about what happens before this comic starts. It's very confusing to begin with because of this, however things are cleared up quite well more towards the end of the comic, though maybe a page at the beginning catching any new readers up on what had previously happened would have helped a lot.
The character of Livewire is quite interesting, though I felt like clearly she was wrong in what she did and I didn't really understand how she couldn't see that, but a part of that comes from a lack of my understanding of the character and how she was raised and the things she's been through, so again, towards the end when we get flashbacks and we see some of that it makes more sense
This didn't feel super original to me, just from reading this volume the psiots don't seem very different to mutants and Harada seemed like he was very similar to Magneto, obviously I'm just going off the small amounts of information gleaned from this volume so I can't say that the psiots/harbingers don't have anything unique going for them, it just didn't seem to have much unique from what I saw in this volume.
I quite liked the art, and I've seen some people say they didn't like the colour choices. There's a lot of pinks and blues so sometimes the page looks like it's being lighted by a neon sign but I quite like that look.
Overall, not the easiest introduction into Valiant comics, but quite a good volume.
I feel like my understanding of what was happening in this series was definitely hampered by not having read any Valiant comics about what happens before this comic starts. It's very confusing to begin with because of this, however things are cleared up quite well more towards the end of the comic, though maybe a page at the beginning catching any new readers up on what had previously happened would have helped a lot.
The character of Livewire is quite interesting, though I felt like clearly she was wrong in what she did and I didn't really understand how she couldn't see that, but a part of that comes from a lack of my understanding of the character and how she was raised and the things she's been through, so again, towards the end when we get flashbacks and we see some of that it makes more sense
Spoiler
I still felt like I wasn't on her side until she apologised at the end and showed regret for how she acted and the deaths she'd caused, I felt like this kind of character growth was really important for the character moving forward and I think future volumes of this comic will be more enjoyable now that she's truly sorry for what she's done. So this volume wasn't super enjoyable to read but without it the character couldn't really have move forward.This didn't feel super original to me, just from reading this volume the psiots don't seem very different to mutants and Harada seemed like he was very similar to Magneto, obviously I'm just going off the small amounts of information gleaned from this volume so I can't say that the psiots/harbingers don't have anything unique going for them, it just didn't seem to have much unique from what I saw in this volume.
I quite liked the art, and I've seen some people say they didn't like the colour choices. There's a lot of pinks and blues so sometimes the page looks like it's being lighted by a neon sign but I quite like that look.
Overall, not the easiest introduction into Valiant comics, but quite a good volume.